Abstract
We investigated the effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linnaeus (HSL)-fed infusion on the fatty acid (FA) profile in liver of metabolic syndrome (MS) rats and its possible effect on vascular reactivity. Body mass, intra-abdominal fat, triglycerides, insulin, blood pressure, saturated, monounsaturated FA, NEFAs, Δ9-, Δ6-desaturases and vasoconstriction were increased, while vasorelaxation, polyunsaturated FA, endothelial nitric oxide and / ratio decreased in MS versus Control, but HSL infusion modified it and increased Δ5-desaturase. The results suggest that the alteration in FA liver metabolism in the MS contributes to impaired vascular reactivity, but treatment with of HSL infusion can improve this condition.
Acknowledgements
We thank Rodrigo Velázquez Espejel for technical support in immunoblotting and Marco Antonio Rosas for technical support in the care of the experimental groups.